U.N. Observers Find 15 Bodies in Recaptured Bosnian Town
ZAGREB, Croatia — The United Nations said Friday that its peacekeepers had found 15 bodies, including civilians and mutilated soldiers, near the Bosnian government-controlled town of Kulen Vakuf in western Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The bodies, found by U.N. military observers, were in an area recently captured by the Bosnian army from Serb forces, U.N. spokesman Chris Gunness said. They had been wrapped in plastic. The dead had not been identified, he added.
The bodies “included eight soldiers, two of which have been decapitated, and seven civilians, three of which were women,†he said.
Gunness said the soldiers’ uniforms were unrecognizable. “They are in too far a state of decomposition to determine which army the soldiers are from,†he said.
The town of Kulen Vakuf lies just inside western Bosnia on the border of Croatia.
Meanwhile, European Union monitors accused the Croatian army of widespread murder, looting and burning in its campaign against ethnic Serbs.
A copy of their report alleges that Croatia committed “grave breaches of international law†during and after an offensive in Croatia last month against rebel Serbs.
The word confidential was stamped on the report, apparently intended only for European Union officials.
Aides to Croatian President Franjo Tudjman refused to comment on the report Friday.
Serb leaders complain that the West has issued only muted criticism of Croatia’s actions after years of routinely condemning Serb atrocities in neighboring Bosnia.
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